Anti-splash vessel for liquids



Oct. 28, 1958 c. s. ROBINSON ANTI-SPLASH VESSEL FOR LIQUIDS Filed June 5, 1956 United States Patent Ofi Patented Oct. 28, 1958 Englewood, 1N. J4, assignor to Robin- Inc., Teterboro, N. J., a corporation of The present "invention relates to an anti-splash vessel such as a drinking cup 'or other normally open-topped receptacle 'for liquids which is particularly useful in restaurants where filled vessels mustbe carried "or in airplanes, trains and ships. Effortshave beenmade in the past to provide drinking cups, for ekain'ple, which tend to prevent splashing of "the 'liqu'ideontent's but the "structures thus produced have been either insuificiently effective or have presented unusual contours t'o the lips of the user and in many cases have suffered both defects. In 'many cases "the modifications of conventional design which are adopted to reduce splashing "make the vessel #(ilfilClIit or impossibletoclean 'orj'sta'ck and increase the cost of manufacture beyond practical 'liinits.

It is an object ofthis invention to jprovidea vessel of the type described which isfunu'sually "eifective and fat fthe same tim presents a runner writourtoahe lips ;of the user, is easi1 -1anea array "be Securely "stacked and which may be manufactured with little intire'asein 'cos't.

Other and furtherobjects will appear from "a consideration of a p'i eferred form of the present invention "taken "in connection With specification.

erifly described the present "invention prmiic'tes a baffle "ring of particular contour which projects inwardly ;of the the drawings forming a part of this vessel at 'a lve l s'ufli'ciently' bel'ow "the rim of thevessel to avoid contact, under normal conditions,'with thelips of the user when the present invention is embodied "in a drinking vessel. The walls'o'f'the vessel-both above and below the baffle na may have "the ently outwardly although such walls may "be substantially v'ert'ic'al or in- 'war'dly convergingflf "so desired. Forthe' purposes of the present invention the rim of the vessel need not have any unusual contour-"since 'the particular co'ntour of'thebaflle -i'ng *istes'pons'ible for the effectiveness of "the present invention.

- embodied in a drinking cup althoughfit will =be"understdodthat the principles of 'the'present invention'are hodyhaving a conventionaT'handle 12 which 'may be equally applicable to vess'elsof various types for-containing liquids. The cup is generally indicated by the reference numeral and it comprises 'a. bowl-shaped integral with the body. The cup 'maybe made of. ceramic or plastic material, as "desired, a'n'd'itis a particirla'rfea- "ture of the present invention that the special construc- "tion provided for redub'tion fof splashing .may be incor- 'porated as an integral part (it 'the'cup wi'thout'p'r'es'enting an great difliculty in molding thereof in accordance with conventional practice. It will be noted that the cup includes a bottom 14 and an outwardly flaring side wall portion 16. The contour of the side wall portion 16 is interrupted by a baffle ring 18 above which is located a side wall portion 20 which may flare outwardly at any desired and conventional angle. The side wall portion 20 terminates in a smoothly rounded rim or lip 22. It is contemplated that the outward flare of the wall portion 20 as well as the thickness thereof and the contour of the rim 2 shall be quite conventional so that the user of the cup will not be confronted with some unusual angle, contour or thickness.

The baflle ring 18 extends inwardly of the cup so as to form an annularbody of substantially triangular crosssection. The specific contour or slope of the upper surface 24 of the baflle ring is not critical insofar as the antisplash function of the baffle ring is concerned. For other purposes to be described below, it may be desirable to form the upper surface24 as a section of a cone. In any event, the upper surface should be smoothly rounded into the surface of the wall portion 20 and preferably should slope downwardly to avoid trapping of liquid and Soas to present no difliculty in.cleaning.

The contour and distance of inward projection of the lower surface 26 of the .baflle ring 18 is critical to the accomplishment of desired results. .Thus thesurface 26 is curved smoothly from the surface of the wall portion 16 inwardly of the cup, the curvature being such as to deflect any up-surging liquid into a path such that the liquidwill fall back into the cup. Tothis end, the 'curvature shou'ld'be such as to includefajportion, a tangent to which lies at a relatively small angle with respect to the horizontal as viewed in Fig. 2. Thus theline's -28 and 30 which are tangent to the portion of the curve 26 lying innermost the cup are at an angle of about 20 to 30 with the horizontal. Expressed otherwise, the lines 28 and '30 intersectthe axis 31 of the cup at an angled about 60 to 70. It will be understood that liquid surging up the walls 16 will be deflected by the curved portion 26 so as to tend, after leaving the curved portion 26, to continue in a straight line corresponding with the tangents 28 and 30. Having been deflected to a path so "close to the horizontal the liquid will tend to fall back into the vessel Without splashing over the rim.

the diameter of the vessel. Thus, the horizontal distance from line a to line b (Fig. 2) or from line c to line d should be equal to from about 5% to about 8% of the diameter of the vessel as measured between. the lines a and 'a'. ,From a consideration of Fig. 2, .it will be apparent that the distance from line a to line b, for example, represents the actual extent of inward projection of the baflle ring 18, measured from the point at which the curved surface 26 intersects the uppermost part of the surface 16.

With regard to the limits just set forth, it will be understood "that the effectiveness achieved can be assessed only on apractical basis whether the tests be conducted under actual or simulated conditions. For example, a coffee cup with a bafile ring having curvature and size within "these limits has been found to effectively prevent splashing of its liquid content when carried in a tray or used rough to be definitely uncomfortable to those accustomed to travel by air. Thus, the present invention makes it possible to safely serve beverages in a cup of apparently familiar design and contour on aircraft, railroad dining cars and the like, under conditions formerly regarded as impossible or as requiring the use of partially filled tumbler-shaped vessels or other makeshifts. The bafile ring 18 may be made to project inwardl more than the 8% upper limit above set forth but such increase is not accompanied by any demonstrable increase in effectiveness. Similarly, the angle between the lines 28 and 30 and the axis 31 of the vessel may be increased to 80 or more without noticeable improvement. However, the minimum limits cannot be substantially reduced without rendering the baffle ring 18 much less effective.

There are further and practical reasons for not increasing the limits. If the lines 28'and 30 were more nearly horizontal of if the curve 26 were to be made reentrant the vessel would be very difficult to clean and would not tend to drain dry upon inversion. If the bafile ring 18 were to project inwardly for a substantially greater distance, it would present similar difficulties in cleaning and would further complicate moulding.

It is preferred to make the baffie ring 18 discontinuous by providing notches 32 and 34 which are diametrically opposed on a diameter 36 at right angles to the diameter 38 extending through the handle 12. These notches will minimum distance required to avoid contact between the facilitate draining of the vessel by right-handed and lefthanded users, respectively.

It has been stated above that the contour of the upper surface 24 of the baffle ring 18 is not critical. However, such surface should incline downwardly at an angle sufficient to permit ready draining of liquid therefrom. This will facilitate cleaning and drying and also will prevent unsightly accumulation of liquid while the cup is in use. It is preferred to make the upper surface as a section of a cone and to provide a mating conical section 40 on the exterior of each vessel of the same set so that they may be firmly stacked as shown in Fig. 3.

The baffle ring 18 may also serve as a convenient indicator for uniform filling of the cups. For example, they may be filled to a level coinciding with the inner edge of the baffle ring 18 with assurance that they may be carried and used without danger of spilling under very adverse conditions.

I claim:

1. An anti-splash drinking vessel for liquids comprisside wall, a rim, and a bafile ring extending substantially r continuously around the inner circumference of said vessel and radially inwardly thereof substantially parallel with said rim, said baffle ring being positioned below said rim a distance suflicient but not substantially exceeding the minimum distance required to avoid contact be tween the said bafile ring and the lips of a person drinking from said vessel, said baflle ring being generally triangular in cross-section and having a lower surface which is inclined upwardly to the inner edge thereof and curved smoothly inwardly from the side wall of said vessel to form a radially inner portion thereof which forms a substantial angle with the horizontal said angle being small as compare-d to the angle formed by the tangent to said radially inner portion at the point of the intersection of the tangent with the vertical central axis of said vessel above said baffle ring, and said bafile ring having an upper surface which slopes inwardly and downwardly of said vessel.

2. An anti-splash drinking vessel for liquids comprising a bottom, an upwardly extending outwardly sloping side wall, a rim, and a baffle ring extending substantially continuously around the inner circumference of said vessel and radially inwardly thereof substantially parallel with said rim, said bafiie ring being positioned below said vrirn a distance sufficient but not substantially exceeding the said baffie ring and the lips of a person drinking from said vessel, said bafiie ring being generally triangular in cross-section and having a lower surface which is inclined upwardly to the inner edge thereof and curved smoothly inwardly from the side wall of said vessel to form a radially inner portion thereof which forms a substantial angle with the horizontal said angle being small as compared to the angle formed by the tangent to said radially inner portion at the point of the intersection of the tangent with the vertical central axis of said vessel above said baffie ring, the outer diameter of approximately the lower half of said vessel being less than the inner diameter of said bafile ring whereby a major portion of one of said vessels is nestable within another, and said baffie ring having an upper surface which slopes inwardly and downwardly of said vessel.

3. An anti-splash drinking cup for liquids comprising a bottom, an upwardly extending outwardly sloping side wall, a rim, and a baflle ring extending substantially continuously around the inner circumference of said vessel and radially inwardly thereof substantially parallel with said rim, said baflle ring being positioned below said rim a distance sufficient but not substantially exceeding the minimum distance required to avoid contact between the said bafile ring and the lips of a person drinking from said vessel, said bafile ring being generally triangular in cross-section and having a lower surface which is inclined upwardly to the inner edge thereof and curved smoothly inwardly from the side wall of said vessel to form a radially inner portion thereof which forms a substantial angle with the horizontal said anglebeing small as compared to the angle'formed by the tangent to said radially inner portion at the point of the intersection of the tangent with the vertical central axis of said vessel above said baffle ring, said tangent intersecting said axis at said point at an angle of from about to about said bafile ring extending inwardly of said vessel for a distance equal to from about 5% to about 8% of the diameter of said vessel at the point of intersection of said lower surface with the inner surface of said side wall, the outer diameter of approximately the lower half of said vessel being less than the inner diameter of said bafile ring whereby a major portion of one of said vessels is nestable within wall, a rim, a radially extending handle adjacent to said rim and a bafile ring extending substantially continuously around the inner circumference of said vessel and radially inwardly thereof substantially parallel with said rim, said baffle ring being positioned below said rim a distance sufficient but not substantially exceeding the minimum distance required to avoid contact between the said bafile ring and the lips of a person drinking from said vessel,

said baflle ring being generally triangular in cross-section and having a lower surface which is inclined upwardly to the inner edge thereof and curved smoothly inwardly from the side Wall of said vessel to form a radially inner portion thereof which forms a substantial angle with the horizontal said angle being small as compared to the angle formed by the tangent to said radially inner portion at thepoint of the intersection of the tangent with the vertical central axis of said vessel above said bafile ring, said tangent intersecting said axis at said point at an angle of from about 60 to about 70, said baffle ring extending inwardly of said vessel for a distance equal to from about 5% to about 8% of the diameter of said vessel at the point of intersection of said lower surface with the inner surface of said side wall, the outer diameter of approximately the lower half of said vessel being less than the inner diameter of said battle ring whereby a major portion of one of said vessels is nestable within another, said baffle ring having an upper surface which slopes inwardly and downwardly of said vessel, said baflie ring having formed therein a pair of notches extending transversely of said baflle ring and diametrically opposed on a diameter of said cup which is approximately at right angles to the radial axis of said handle, and said notches having bottoms coinciding substantially with the inner surface of said side wall to facilitate draining of said cup by a user.

D. 38, 054 Slater June 5, 1906 6 Edgar Oct. 19, 1886 Royer Apr. 27, 1909 Mander Apr. 17, 1928 Hills Feb. 3, 1942 Marshall Nov. 18, 1947 Sweem May 29, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Nov. 3, 1906 

